... we can conclusively state that we have somewhere around 20 to 30 cougars in our state, and based on this recent sighting of a female with three cubs, we have a breeding population. I hope the Game and Fish Commission will take notice and admit the obvious ..,

... One of the largest expanses of forested wetlands in the world was once the 24 million acres of hardwoods along the lower Mississippi River. Fewer than 5 million forested acres survive in the area once known as the Big Woods. Vast expanses of cypress, oak, hickory and sweetgum trees that were hundreds of years old provided habitat for everything from deer to bears...

... the consistent harvest numbers from recent years are a good indication that Arkansas deer populations are beginning to stabilize... we’re back to similar harvests from the four or five years prior to last..,

...Four white-tailed deer in Benton, Washington, and Sebastian counties recently tested positive ... CWD was detected in the state almost two years ago ..,

Out duck hunting on a cold icey morning and we noticed something splashing and swimming across the lake. We went to check it out and found a doe and fawn desperately trying to get out of the water. They had tried to cross the lake and broke through the ice leaving them stranded. We offered them a lift shore! Coolest thing I have ever been a part of! Blessed! - January, 2018 Arkansas

... in 2016-17, Arkansas hunters killed 202,070 deer... significantly less than 2012-13, when we killed a record 213,487 ... nearly 70 percent of the state's 313,000 licensed hunters killed a deer during the 2016-17 deer seasons, and that each hunter killed a statistical average of 1.2 deer... Zone 12, a rural, heavily forested area of lowlands and river valleys, traditionally contributes the largest number of deer to our annual deer kill..,

... chronic wasting disease was discovered in Arkansas in February 2016 ... added locations of taxidermists and veterinarians throughout the state also offer more places than the Commission can man throughout deer season to make it easier for a hunter to turn in a sample...

Modern gun antlerless deer hunt set on private land October 15, 2017 Arkansas, Arkansas Online... Reducing the number of deer obviously increases the amount and quality of nutrition available for remaining deer... reducing doe numbers can balance the buck-to-doe ratio on your property. That can compress the breeding period and intensify rutting activity... can influence bucks to be more visible during the daytime ...

Antlerless Hunt Offers Head Start To Deer Season October 11, 2017 Arkansas, Booneville Democrat... “In the 1940s and 1950s, the focus was on protecting does because the goal was to bring back populations from near extinction,” ... by the 1980s, deer managers saw the need to begin stabilizing the population ... too many does ... prolongs the rut ... many fawns dropped later in the summer ... will have a lower survival rate.” ..,

... If you see a sick or abnormal deer, call the commission's chronic wasting disease hotline at (800) 364-9262. "Any sick animal you come across regardless of where you are in the state, you need to call," Gray said. "Those are top priority samples." ...

... Our case is unique because we went from zero reported cases to 28 percent prevalence in the hot zone in the span of a few weeks. That's unprecedented, and it spooked deer biologists everywhere... People are estimated to consume as many as 15,000 deer that are infected with CWD annually...

... a positive elk was collected in Searcy County last year within a few miles of the county line... Yearling bucks ... can range up to 50 miles, we based our CWD management strategy on the assumption of a 10-mile average dispersal radius ...

... We began testing elk for CWD in 1997 and whitetails in 2003... The first hit was a [elk] cow harvested in October 2015 and got the test results back in February 2016. “At the same time, a sick deer showed up at our elk education center in Ponca ... we found the disease in 206 whitetails and six elk. Those were found in seven counties, all in north Arkansas: Boone, Carroll, Madison, Marion, Newton, Polk, and Searcy ...

... one year since the first case of CWD [chronic wasting disease] was discovered in Arkansas ... Since the initial finding, the disease has been found in 206 white-tailed deer and six additional elk ...

... "Lifting the three-point rule and allowing people to count a button buck as an antlerless deer in Deer Zones 1 and 2 proved to increase the harvest and hopefully will reduce deer density in that area ...can help to slow the rate at which CWD spreads through animal-to-animal contact." lifting of the three-point rule also enabled hunters to remove younger bucks from the herd. "Young bucks are known to disperse more ...

... In early December, the AGFC announced it had collected samples from 1,592 road-killed deer, 298 deer reported as sick by the public and 1,136 samples from hunter-harvested animals. Up to that time, 150 white-tailed deer and six elk were confirmed with CWD in Arkansas...

... The Yell County deer and the Marion County deer fell within the questionable range. The more accurate test revealed that those deer were actually CWD negative. "The good news is the disease has not been detected south of the Arkansas River," ... That reduced the total number of CWD positive reports from 158 to 156 ...

... the commission's wildlife management division set up 10 stations in the 10 counties that comprise the CWD management zone... Hunters brought in only 535 whitetailed deer and two elk for sampling, despite record deer kills in all 10 counties... he latest sad news concerning CWD is the confirmation of the disease last week in Yell County...

... Twenty-eight new cases of CWD have been identified from voluntary sampling stations run by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission during opening weekend of modern gun season, Nov. 12-13...

Will Deer Disease Deter Hunters? November 8, 2016 Arkansas, ArkansasMatters... Chronic wasting disease (CWD) struck a blow to Arkansas' wildlife when it was first detected earlier this year... With a 23 percent prevalence rate, it's been here for several decades ... We're not going to be able to eradicate this disease...

... "Most states have indicated they have initially seen a decline in hunter numbers after the detection of CWD," ... That could mean a loss in revenue not just from selling fewer hunting licenses, but a trickle down effect for processors, retailers, and everyone else in the business of deer hunting...

... through Oct. 31 there were 39,791 deer killed. Last year through the same date, that number was 49,627, or a 9,866 difference... 0,482 fewer does killed so far this year... an inverse relationship to harvest numbers and temperatures... reports of "unprecedented" acorns this year ...

... Voluntary biological sampling stations will be placed at 25 sites within the 10-counties comprising the CWD Management Zone ... “We are continuing to monitor for CWD outside of the CWD management zone by collecting samples from road-killed deer,” ...

Entering Arkansas's first deer and elk seasons since the discovery of chronic wasting disease in the state, there are many questions about the disease. This episode answers some of those questions and prepares hunters for the coming deer and elk seasons. - October 27, 2016

What's Next for Doug the Deer? October 11, 2016 Arkansas, KNWA... Doug the deer was like a family pet. You could regularly see him roaming around John Brown Universities' campus making friends...Game and fish said, Doug will be released onto public property in northern Arkansas in about four weeks...

photo courtesy of Sarah] said. "He had a wooded area with a creek. He doesn’t normally get out where cars are, and he was not a danger to people at all." ...'Doug the Deer' Loved by Community, On the Run from Game and Fish October 5, 2016 Arkansas, KNWA... His name is Doug and he's loved dearly by many at John Brown University and the Siloam Springs community. Residents say he's like a masco ... has his own Facebook page ... Game & Fish says they plan to catch Doug and release him on private land but at this point they haven't been able to catch him...Local Friendly Deer Causes Drama In Siloam Springs October 5, 2016 Arkansas, 5newsonline.com... A friendly deer that has gained popularity among Siloam Springs residents is wanted for relocation by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission... AGFC is searching for the deer to relocate him to a wilderness area, but residents are hoping to keep him around...

... Northern Arkansas will have deer hunts this fall despite the discovery of Chronic Wasting Disease in elk and deer herds in five counties... Wildlife officials said the best way to prevent the spread of the disease is to stop the transport of any parts of deer or elk from areas found positive... state’s estimated 1 million deer, 600 elk and 308,000 licensed hunters ...

... Evidence suggests that prions, the infectious agent responsible for CWD, can spread the disease through animal remains long after the host has died. These prions accumulate in the brain, spinal cord, lymph nodes, bones and certain organs of deer and elk ...

... They’ve [AGFC] taken a total of 1,749 samples. Of those, 104 tested positive. There have not been any positive results in Northeast Arkansas... “They can come to us if they want to have the deer sampled,” ...

Urban bowhunts put dent in deer numbers September 6, 2016 Arkansas, Northwest Arkansas News... Carrie Crawford is a Game and Fish employee and former secretary of the Arkansas Bowhunters Association. She has helped organize hunter orientations at urban bowhunts ... The appeal of this unconventional hunt is the access to areas where deer have never been pressured ...

... A sampling effort from Aug. 1-4, around the southernmost case of chronic wasting disease in the state has not turned up any new positive results of the fatal deer disease... Voluntary sample collection sites will be available opening weekend of this year’s modern gun deer season ...

... their front legs will be sprawled out, their head will be low, neck out and staring. They are looking at you like they are looking over the top of glasses. They, as I call it, have a 100-mile stare. Most of the time you will find them standing in water where they are urinating and drinking at the same time ...

... “In the coming deer season, we hope to gather 300 samples from hunter-harvested deer in each of the counties in our CWD Management Zone,” Meeker said. “But the single positive case of CWD in Pope County came from an area that has very little land open to public hunting.” ...

... Commissioners voted unanimously today during a special meeting to approve a Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone made up of Boone, Carroll, Johnson, Logan, Madison, Marion, Newton, Pope, Searcy and Yell counties. CWD has been found in five of these counties since first being discovered in Arkansas in late February...

... ... proposal would create a non-commercial hunting enclosure permit for all high-fence deer facilities. Facility owners would be required to submit samples of all deer that die inside the facility for CWD testing ...

... On Friday, the Game and Fish Commission will vote on a set of regulations meant to limit the spread ... would require landowners who erect high fences to leave openings so deer can move freely in and out. The idea is to reduce the chances that a deer will be stuck in captivity in an enclosed area, where it would be more likely to come in contact with an infected deer ...

... All urban hunts follow guidelines to ensure the safety of hunters and local landowners. .. "But when you open up a season so close to people's homes, you want to make sure everyone participating is responsible and ethical." ...

... potential regulations that would affect the five affected counties ... To decrease deer density, AGFC would establish a 10-county management zone where landowners would be issued extra deer tags. Landowners would be required to submit samples of the deer they kill for testing...

... Five counties in Arkansas are facing problems with chronic wasting, including Boone, Carroll, Madison, Pope and Newton counties... Their most recent proposal threatens to cancel one program that has some Arkansans upset. The proposal would ban rehabilitating deer statewide to help stop the spread of the disease...

... Landowners within the 10-county management zone will be issued extra tags to help decrease deer density and landowners will be required to submit samples of harvested deer for CWD testing. Deer and elk killed within the zone must remain in the zone, with the exception of “deboned meat, cleaned skull plates, hides, teeth and taxidermy products.” ...

... As of Friday the Game and Fish Commission had confirmed 93 cases in five counties: Newton, Boone, Madison, Pope and Carroll. The most recent positive test results were from May 27. "I don't think any of us would have imagined there would be this number," Wild said. The National Park Service veterinarian has studied chronic wasting disease since the 1980s and is one of several national experts advising Arkansas on how to respond to the outbreak...

... Require all hunter-killed elk to be submitted for testing... Greatly reduce the number of deer and elk in known contaminated areas... Prohibit the use of natural deer- or elk-urine scents and lures... Prohibit the rehabilitation of injured deer statewide...

... Arkansas Game & Fish ... Some of the regulations include prohibiting feeding of wildlife statewide, requiring elk to be submitted for chronic wasting disease testing and increasing private land antlerless elk quota from 24 to 40 ...

... Many people have corn feeders in their backyards to attract deer, but they do not hunt in their yards. ... One regulation prohibits feeding wildlife statewide with some exceptions, like bird feeders. The purpose is to discourage people from unnaturally concentrating deer with feeders in places where hunting does not occur...

... A desire to attract deer has led a St. Francis man to try and build an orchard of a hybrid tree whose breeders hope can bring chestnuts, in some form, back to North American shores... American Chestnut trees by the millions were felled more than a century ago when an invasive blight swept through the country...

... testing revealed 23 percent of deer in a 125,000-acre portion of Searcy County near the Buffalo River were infected... One proposal would prohibit people from feeding wildlife year round, but a related proposal will allow deer hunters to use bait from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 ...

... "What separates CWD from other (diseases) is that it is not a virus," Gray said. "It's not like hemorrhagic disease or blue tongue where it is a virus and it will run its course and it is over with. It is always fatal. There is no cure." The disease withstands heat, chemicals, enzymes and time. Nothing seems to break it down. Also, it can stay dormant in the animal's body for up to 18 months...

... , Arkansas found Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) for the first time by way of a wild elk cow ... One reason it went unnoticed is because Arkansas wasn't looking for it very hard ... Arkansas and neighboring states must increase their testing of free-ranging deer and elk in order to get a better idea of where CWD is ...

... passengers in aa yellow Ford Escort when it struck the deer, and the men loaded the stunned and injured animal into the car ... The deer revived in the car, and the video shows one of the men repeatedly striking the animal on the head ... The car pulled over eventually, and the men dragged the deer into a ditch along the highway and left it ...

... The video surfaced in January, showing 20-year-old Joshua Rewis of Villa Rica, Georgia, in the back of a vehicle hitting a deer with a textbook. Rewis was charged with a misdemeanor offense of cruelty to animals and wasting wildlife...

... A deer in Madison County and another deer in Pope County were positive for the fatal disease. Both deer were road kills that were reported by the public... Eighty-one deer and three elk have been found to be positive....

... two deer in Boone County and three elk and 37 deer in Newton County which have been tested positive for CWD. Mills said, “This is a serious disease ... He urged the members to call (800) 482-9262 if they see a deer which had been killed on the road so that deer could be tested...

... The fastest and most efficient way for CWD to colonize new areas is to be transported in by hunters... No matter where you kill it, process the deer or have it processed there. Don't transport it to other counties. CWD will not annihilate our deer and elk ...

... the first phase of sampling for Chronic Wasting Disease and has found a 23 percent prevalence rate in Newton and Boone counties. Of 266 randomly collected wild deer, 62 were found to have the fatal disease ... AGFC Director Mike Knoedl has proposed to ban the practice of baiting deer ... the deer herd in Arkansas, which is estimated at one million ...

Wasting disease prevalent in early tests April 21, 2016 Arkansas, Arkansas Online... To limit the spread of the disease beyond north Arkansas, Game and Fish Commission Director Mike Knoedl recommended that the commission consider banning the baiting of deer with corn and eliminating mineral blocks, a known transmission medium for the disease... Of the 77 bucks sampled, 25, or about 30 percent, tested positive...

... the prevalence rate of chronic wasting disease in wild whitetailed deer is 23 percent after completing the first phase of testing in north Arkansas... Such a high prevalence rate, coupled with a high infection rate among fawns, strongly suggests the disease has been present for a long time ...

... he first positive case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Arkansas in an elk harvested last October in Newton County ... Deer hunting is a $370 million industry in the state... plants can uptake prions from contaminated soil and transport them to different parts of the plant. By doing this, the plants can act as a carrier of CWD....

... AGFC will take samples from any sick or dead deer reported throughout the state. A primary focus will be on road-killed animals. “There’s no need to sacrifice possibly healthy animals for this phase, Samples taken from road kills have a greater chance of testing positive than random samples from healthy animals,” ...

... Researchers with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture said recently that 18 out of 48 white-tailed deer tested in Newton County in March were found to have Chronic Wasting Disease, also known as CWD... Symptoms include weight loss to the point of emaciation, excessive salivation, loss of coordination ...

... there's been 56 confirmed cases, a shocking number he says for a state that's never tested positive for the disease... About new 50 samples will be tested, as the AGF now hunts to find if the disease has spread to other parts of the state ...

... chronic wasting disease (CWD) ... CWD was first detected in captive deer in 1967 and in the mid-1980s in free-ranging elk and deer in Colorado and Wyoming. In 2001 it was found in Nebraska and Wyoming. In 2002 CWD was found in Wisconsin, Illinois, and New Mexico. In 2005 testing positive was New York and West Virginia, followed by Michigan in 2008...

... it's not necessary to continue a mass harvest of elk and white-tailed deer around the Buffalo National River. That's because recently-received test results show chronic wasting disease is prevalent in the animals, and has been in this area for 10 years or more...

... tissue samples from 49 deer and elk taken in and around the 125,000-acre focal area ... Out of the 18 positive deer samples, four were found just outside of the AGFC’s focal area... Arkansas now has 22 CWD [chronic wasting disease] positive samples ...The public can report sick deer and elk by calling 800-482-9262 or by email at cwdinfo@agfc.ar.gov ...

... a second white-tailed deer in Newton County has tested positive for chronic wasting disease... Also, an elk killed near Pruitt in October was confirmed to have the disease on Feb. 23. All three locations are in northern Newton County ...

... “This positive sample falls squarely in the middle of our sampling area so we will not have to make any adjustments at this time," Carner said in a statement. "We will try to intensify our sampling in the immediate vicinity of this detection.” ...

... The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission at its monthly meeting Thursfay in Little Rock said there is no link between a case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease reported Wednesday in Fayetteville and chronic wasting disease in Newton County. Both diseases are forms of spongieform encephalathy ...

Arkansas Deer News and Information Archive by Topic

Arkansas data: An estimated 1 million or more deer in 2012 through 2017, a million in 2011. Record harvest of 213,487 in 2013, slightly less in 2014 (harvest data). Good environmental conditions for the herd in 2013 with a wet spring and summer, good browse through summer, and high mast production. Very strong population in south Arkansas, but less robust in the Ozarks. Fewer deer in the northeast, where there is limited habitat, and in the Ouachita Mountains, where there is poor soil fertility and habitat quality. Deer in the northwest rely significantly on the acorn crop which vary dramatically from year to year. Deer in south have a wider variety of food source which makes it less variable. About 308,000 deer hunters.

The strategy is a balanced hunt in terms of age and sex distributions, but many hunters won't shoot does. In 2013, for the first time ever, more does that bucks were reported in the harvest 107,247 does to 105,952 bucks. A legal buck must have both antlers shorter than 2 inches (button buck) or have three or more points on one side of his rack. Habitat is limited for deer, so populations are low in the northeast and the Ouachita Mountains.

Chronic Wasting Disease was first discovered in 2016 in an elk found dead near Pruitt on the Buffalo National River in October of 2015. Seventy new cases discovered during the 2017 deer season. More in 2018.

History: Deer were abundant prior to the arrival of Europeans, but over hunting and habitat destruction reduced the deer herd to about 2,000 in 1919. The 1917 Legislature passed an act to restrict hunting of does until 1922. The 1927 flood killed many deer; the 1930 deer count was about 500. Restocking and deer refuges were implemented for the next 20 years, a buck only harvest was instituted to boost the herd. By 1947 about 31,500 deer. There were 44 refuges or deer farms in the restocking program in 1950. When mandatory checking of hunted deer started in 1938, just 203 deer were checked. The herd reached a population of 500,000 by 1985 and management shifted to stabilization with a significant doe harvest. Estimated 1989 population: 700,000. In 1998 the three point rule made it illegal to shoot a buck with less than three antler points on one side, an effort to improve age demographics. About 25 percent of hunting is on public land.

Elk About 600 elk in 2016.

Mountain Lion: An unofficial estimate of 20 to 30 in the state in 2018, at least one female with cubs seen.